The Ukrainian initiative creates a foundation for future work with migrants, minorities, people in need, and other vulnerable groups. The organisations involved in the project cooperate with local authorities on activities supporting other minority communities and socially excluded people in Brno and the surrounding region.
The initiative aims to establish a center in Brno where various organisations and initiatives can offer services in the fields of education, social support, pregnancy care, and psychological assistance for women, seniors, and people fleeing war.
Three Stages of the ision
- Establish a center in Brno where various initiatives can provide services in the fields of education, social services, pregnancy support, and psychological assistance for people fleeing war.
- Support women arriving from Ukraine who work in these fields by providing mentoring, Czech language courses, and opportunities to find employment in Brno and throughout the Czech Republic.
- Transfer knowledge and expertise to integrated refugees, enabling them to provide essential services in cooperation with the Ukrainian initiative and adapt those services according to current needs and circumstances.
So far, the center has been providing pregnancy support, as well as social and psychological counselling services, in cooperation with the Union of Midwives, the Czech Doula Association, Brno Social Services, counselling centers, international nursing and healthcare organisations, universities, and teaching hospitals.
During its first six months, the center focused primarly on crisis intervention and psychological support groups. The team currently includes three Ukrainian psychologists who are refugees themselves. Working at the center enables them to continue practising their profession, while their knowledge of the Ukrainian language plays a crucial role in supporting clients, particularly children.
The objective for the upcoming period is to strengthen collaboration within the team through professional supervision and methodological support, thereby creating a sustainable working environment and ensuring the continued provision of high-quality psychological assistance to both children and adult refugees from Ukraine.
To provide children and adults with educational support, the center also plans to organise training activities for professionals involved in the integration of Ukrainian children, such as teachers and educators. These activities will help them recognise trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other symptoms related to traumatic experiences, enabling them to provide appropriatte support or refer children to specialised professionals when necessary.
How do we support them?
The contribution provided by the VGP Foundation will be used for:
- Individual psychological assistance for children and adults
- Psychological support groups
- The development of internal procedures and methodologies for the team of psychologists
- The coordination and supervision of psychological support activities
- Training pogrammes for helping professionals
